Version 1.61 - 2D head animations, menu navigation improvements and general fixes

This release has been in the testing stage for a while now, so the patience has been appreciated. A fair number of "Upgrade notes" this time, so please take a few moments to go through them carefully. The major features:

2D head animations2D characters can now turn their head to face objects and Hotspots in the same way 3D characters can. Those animated using "Sprites Unity" mode can also play talking head animations independently from their body - allowing for walk and talk animations to play simultaneously. These modifications are best shown by example, so a new downloadable package is available here.

Performance boostI expect the boost won't be too noticeable, but AC is now more efficient at keeping track of scene objects that may result in faster load times in some cases. Additionally, there's now no need for custom scripts to call the GatherObjects method when adding AC objects manually. It's been tested thoroughly, but please let me know if this gives any unexpected behaviour.

Menu navigation improvementsThe direct-navigation (i.e. with a keyboard, not the mouse cursor) of AC menus recieves an upgrdae, with the Horizontal/Vertical axes now navigating between elements in a more intuitive way. The new Menu: Select element Action can also be used to enforce the selection of an element - useful when coming back through a series of sub-menus.

Variable linkingGlobal variables can now be linked to any custom asset via events. Previously this was limited to options data and Playmaker, but synchronisation with any custom script is now possible. The new "Variable Linking Example" component demonstrates how this can be achieved.

"Variable linkingGlobal variables can now be linked to any custom asset via events. Previously this was limited to options data and Playmaker, but synchronisation with any custom script is now possible. The new "Variable Linking Example" component demonstrates how this can be achieved."

@Mutajon: In a way. This was always possible with having such animations present in your Animator, and then using the Character: Animate Action to change the "talk animation name" so that it plays a different set instead. This update allows for Sprites Unity to separate the body and head, so that the various "TalkAngry" , "TalkHappy" etc animations only include the head, while the body sprites/animations remain unchanged.

v1.61.1 makes a couple of tweaks and fixes. Chief among them is the ability to prevent the root objects of 2D characters from rotating in 3D space. This normally won't make much difference, but in Unity 5.6 and later, characters that rely on a Rigidbody 2D for movement will see more smooth motion.

Version 1.61.1:

Upgrade note

For sprite-based characters that move with a 2D Rigidbody in Unity 5.6 or newer, it is recommended to uncheck the new "Turn root object in 3D space" Inspector field

Changelog

Added: Option to prevent 2D characters rotating in 3D space, which provides better results for those that move with 2D Rigidbody components

Changed: Reverted the last update's removal of a Default PlayerState if the "Movement method" is None, as this removes the Default Camera field

Fixed: "Variable: Check" Action UI sometimes breaking when comparing a Local variable with a Global variable

Fixed: "Turn instantly when under player control?" movement option interfering with player characters that rely on manual motion control